Hard hitting interview of Ms. Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor....

After Ms. Sunanda Pushkar Tharoor's TV interview Mr. Narendra Modi wouldnt know what to say......(http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/sunanda-pushkar-shashi-tharoor-narendra-modi/1/227004.html)

"Unscientific Americans..." - The Times of India

"Things American text books say: A Passage to India;'The effects of Hinduism have been devastating to India' (Grade 5 history text book); 'Hindus are incapable of writing history (because) all that happens is dissipated in their minds into confused dreams' (Grade 7 History text book, borrowing from Hegel)'" (The Times of India, New Delhi/Chandigarh, October 28, 2012)................................. Forgive them Lord for they know not what they teach!

“Half of Narendra Modi's Twitter followers are fake, claims social media firm” - Economic Times

Hai Ram! http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-27/news/34765197_1_fake-followers-status-people-twitter-user

"Harappan site under sector 17"; news- Times of India

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-28/chandigarh/34779911_1_harappan-civilization-harappan-site-bce Now that would be ‘heritage’....not the 55 year old extremely ordinary and unimaginative chairs, tables and stuff 'designed' by Le Corbusier and his little known nephew....Let us grow up...

'You shall overcome' ...

Wishing all the courage and fortitude to the American people to take on the Super storm 'Sandy'...You 'shall overcome'! Of course hoping that FEMA does a better job than it did in handling 'Katarina'...

Hockey vs. baseball

There was a time when hockey was very popular in Panjab and around...Youngsters used to take pride in carrying hockey sticks as a 'show off'....In case of unfortunate 'panga' hockey sticks were used as a weapon of defence and regretfully even of offence. Things have changed quietly. Hockey is no longer that popular and one does not see any youngsters moving around with their favourite hockey sticks. Baseball is hardly a popular game in India or in Chandigarh.....But unfortunately these days the news of petty violence always mentions that baseball bats were used in the fight... I dont know what to make out of this change......

Welcome to India Maradona

Welcome to India Maradona

Most unsafe country in the world

"US-total population 300 million- Most unsafe country in the world. According to the latest Department of Justice Survey of crime victims, more than 6.6 million violent crimes (murder, rape, assault and robbery) are committed in the US each year" (Source: The Times of India, New Delhi/Chandigarh, September 30, 2012, page 12)

Jaspal Bhatti ji ..RIP.

You brought out so many smiles and laughter on earth that the Gods have called you up to enliven the heavens..............We will miss you....

PM fails UK 'citizenship test' on US Tv show

Koi na ji, koshish jaari rakho...... http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-09-28/uk/34147060_1_citizenship-test-cameron-uk

Metting-sheeting... ...

Mr Narinder Modi goes to Nagpur to meet RSS Chief.... His Excellency the British High Commissioner in India goes to Ahmedabad to meet Mr. Narinder Modi.... Yeh kya ho raha hai...? Dont ask me!!!

Asia's largest donkey fair in Jaipur

http://in.news.yahoo.com/asias-largest-donkey-fair-jaipur-attracts-traders-farmers-051123160.html

Late Yash Chopra, R.I.P.

Late Yash Chopra made very nice, pleasant films and was a successful commercial film maker. ...........But let us not go overboard in praising him....What about some moderation, please?

(Lady) Teachers told to wear apron to avoid stares...

(Lady) Teachers told to wear apron to avoid stares: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-21/kochi/34626910_1_women-teachers-lady-teachers-dress-code

"India's opposition: Big Joke Party"

I was thumbing through an old issue of The Economist (March 31, 2012) and came across an article, "India's opposition: Big Joke Party" (http://www.economist.com/node/21551526)

Shame on us men!

News of a spate of rapes on young girls during the last month has left one very uncomfortable. It gives the impression that young women have no right to personal safety. I was reading an obituary on Alexander Solzhenitsyn written in 2008 in The Economist. Let me quote a very disturbig extract 'As for war, though the Nazis had unleashed atrocities in Russia, "I remember myself in my captain's shoulder-straps and the forward march of my battery through East Prussia, enshrouded in fire, and I say: So were we any better?'" In one poem, "Prussian Nights", he wrote: The little daughter's on the mattress,..... Dead. How many have been on it..... A platoon, a company perhaps?..... A girl's been turned into a woman,..... A woman turned into a corpse.----------------------------------------------------------------- Shame on us men.

J'accuse...

May I suggest a name for the yet unnamed political party of Shri Arwind Kejriwal: "J'accuse" (as in Emile Zola)!

A confession

I have not been a fan of Arvind Kejrival's style of doing things....But I must grudingly admit that gradually I am beginning to develop a sneaking admiration for him....As Munna Bhai would have said 'Banday main hai dumm'

Google Cultural Institute

Have you visited Google's Cultural Institute? Take a look at http://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/#!home

Rapes-result of lack of social mental progress in Haryana

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/rapes-are-a-result-of-lack-of-social-mental-progress-haryana-cong-mla/300539-37-64.html

Browser that does not collect any user info

Came across a browser 'DuckDuckgo', that as a policy, does not collect any information of the users.

"Gods must be crazy"

Way back in 1980, I read the review of a South African film “The Gods must be crazy”. It’s plot seemed novel. An empty coke bottle is thrown out of a low flying aircraft and lands among the bush men in the Kalahari desert of Africa and creates problems for the simple innocent people and so the pratagonist tries to return the coke bottle to God. ---------- Unfortunately there was no way of seeing the film as those were the days of the ugly apartheid policies of the South African government and the almost the whole world had cut off relations with S.A.---------- Well, over 30 years later, I saw this film on one of the Tv channels yesterday. It starts off like a documentary for the first few minutes and then very gradually and quite seamlessly, the plot starts unfolding. It is bit of a slap-stick action comedy with a very serious message – the simple tribals are happy as they have no possessions and have adapted themselves to the nature. On the other hand the modern civilized western man is unhappy as he has tried to change nature to his liking.---------- Don't miss the last scene of the movie where the pretty heroine of the film smiles for the first time and one gets to notice her lovely green eyes.

Sit and pee for a cleaner Earth, Taiwan tells men

Sit and pee for a cleaner Earth, Taiwan tells men: In a special drive in Taiwan, men will be asked to sit and urinate like women, to avoid urine spatter and maintain a clean environment. Stephen Shen, environmental protection administration (EPA) minister in Taiwan has said that sitting on the toilet like women does create a cleaner environment, the BBC News reported. http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-08-29/uk/33475351_1_public-toilets-epa-officials-taiwan

Confusing cricket

Cricket is one legacy of the British colonial rule in India that we seem to be relishing... Today on the occassion of the T20 World Cup Final, I again raise my often asked question, "Why is it that unlike hockey or football or tennis or badminton or table-tennis etc. the playing field in cricket has no fixed dimensions. Some playing grounds are large and some are small, some round and some even oval?" .....Would be gratefull for enlightenment.

Heritage Ha-Ha

The Heritage Brigade of Chandigarh has now started calling the trees lining the Madhya Marg as "Heritage Trees"............Ha, ha & ha.

A warm hearted tribute to a Leftist leader

I found this rather warm hearted tribute to a Leftist leader in the room in the Garwhal Mandal Vikas Nigam's hotel where I stayed for a night in Uttarakashi (Uttarakhand) recently.

Now tha'ts a neat punch!

A smart correspondent asked Mr. Chidambaram on a BBC interview today: "When would India come back to the 9% rate of growth?" "When would the rest of the world come back to 4% rate of growth?" retorted Mr. Chidambaram. Well said Mr. Minister!